HOW IT STARTED: Founded in 2001 by the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), it began after “this group of people came together and basically went, ‘You know, we have a problem here,’” said Jerri Barrett, director of social media for Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology (CMD-IT), which merged with CDC in 2016 and now organizes the conference. “There’s just such a significant nderrepresentation, so the conference was created to really give people the inspiration of role models.”

The Tapia Celebration is named after Richard Tapia, a mathematician and professor in the Computational and Applied Mathematics department at Houston’s Rice University, who directed more underrepresented minority and women doctoral recipients in science and engineering than anyone in the U.S.

WHO ATTENDS Tapia 2017, held in Atlanta, Georgia, welcomed 1,200 attendees — more than half of whom are computing students on the undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels. Professional academics and professionals in the computing industry also attend the annual event. “Everyone gains inspiration,” Barrett said, “and sees that ‘Wow, there is someone who looks like me in computer science who is excelling — this is something I can do.’”

ON THE PROGRAM Themed “Diversity: Simply Smarter!” Tapia 2017 focused on “the fact that there has been so much research that has shown over and over that having a diverse workforce, having a diverse university environment, having diversity everywhere,” Barrett said, “is simply smarter because it has an actual positive impact on whatever you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re looking at a very homogenous group, you’re getting a single voice.”

The event featured “Birds of a Feather” sessions, which bring together individuals in sub-communities within computing. Such session titles included Disability: Celebrating a Face of Diversity; Women of Color in Computing; The Relevance of Data Science in Minority-Serving Institutions; and Hispanics in Computing Community.

WHAT’S NEXTTapia 2018 will be held in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 19–22, with the theme “Diversity: Roots of Innovation.” That focus, Barrett said, “actually came about from a conversation we were having with the planning committee, and we were really talking about the fact that when you look at diversity, it kind of underlies and drives innovation.”

DIVERSITY MATTERS While the Tapia Celebration is focused on diversity, Barrett said there are simple steps to ensure that all events are just as inclusive. “It comes down to the meeting planners themselves needing to take a hard look and say, ‘Do we have a diverse representation? If we’re organizing this conference, and we are a group of white women, are we thinking about women of color?’” Barrett said. “What I find really funny is the response of, ‘Well, we had a woman.’ You know? ‘We had 40 speakers but we had a woman.’”

Ascent aims to bring the issue of diversity and inclusion to the forefront of the business-events industry to empower women, people of color, individuals who identify as LGBTQIA, as well as individuals with disabilities.

Ascent is supported by Visit Seattle and the PCMA Education Foundation.

What’s included?

Earn & Learn
Maintain your professional certifications with our industry-leading content for CMP and CASE in one convenient location.

30+ PCMA Webinars On Demand
Get the latest on technology, marketing, “how tos” and trends to push your events to the next level.

Checklists and Templates
From Risk Management, to room sets, PCMA provides you with the resources you need to get the job done.

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CASE Online Course

What is CASE?

The Certified Association Sales Executive 10 module online course is an interactive, self-paced, certificate course that fills your knowledge gaps, builds your business acumen and teaches you how to become an association mastermind. Discover how to anticipate the needs of your clients and be perceived as a partner, not just a vendor.

What’s Included?

Each of the first 9 modules features a self-assessment quiz to test your knowledge and ensure you have retained the course material

Modules 2-10 lead you through the steps to build an effective Account Plan for a client of your choosing; through research exercises and a SWOT Analysis you’ll identify opportunities on how you can best partner with your customers in the future

The course culminates with you presenting your strategic solutions to your target client and then guides you through a goal setting exercise you can apply to your future endeavors

Business Event Bootcamp

Take the next step to becoming an Event Producing rock star!

The strategies critical to keep business events vibrant, compelling and successful are constantly changing. Enter, the PCMA Business Event Bootcamp.

This online and self-paced event course is designed to give you and/or your team unlimited access to the latest trends and critical information for successful event planning.

Earn approved CE toward your CMP and CAE

Each module can be purchased separately for a customized learning program

Cost effective solution, built for your busy schedule

How can a team benefit?

Some corporations or associations don’t have the luxury of in house training that keeps their teams up on the latest success strategies for events. What happens after training is just as important as what happens during training.

Each module in the Business Event Bootcamp training program comes with a facilitator’s guide for team leaders. This guide is designed to help you navigate your team through each lesson and reinforce learning in the days and weeks following the training courses. Within each guide, you’ll have access to practical activities, reflection questions, and tools to take your team deeper into the course content and facilitate on-going conversations on the topics covered.